Jan. 25, 2014
PLACIDA, Fla. -
The Illinois State men's golf team fell short to in-state rival Illinois Saturday at the Tinervin Cup in Placida, Fla., at the 7,038-yard, par-71 Coral Creek Golf Club with a score of 6-3. It marked the 11th-straight victory for Illinois.
After a morning of playing fourball, the Fighting Illini were up 3-0 on the Redbirds. In the afternoon, players competed in singles, and the two teams went 3-3, pushing the score to 6-3 to end the event. The event is put on by Jeff and Madalyn Tinervin, and is played in a format similar to the Ryder Cup.
Even though the 'Birds fell short, head coach Ray Kralis was proud of the way his team competed.
"Despite a 6-3 defeat to fifth-ranked Illinois, this was a great experience for us, as we kick off the spring season," Kralis said. "Wils Hawn and Tyler Gentilella were very impressive in both the morning and afternoon rounds, putting a point on the board in singles matches. I thought we had some great play in the afternoon to earn a split in the singles matches. Everyone should be able to take positives moving forward to the spring season. This is all part of the preparation as we will face a strong field at South Alabama in a couple weeks."
During single play in the afternoon, Hawn defeated the Illini's Charlie Danielson, while Gentilella won his round against Jonathan Hauter. Josh Edison earned a point in the singles round, as Alex Burge had to withdraw after the fourball matches due to an injury.
The Redbirds return to competition Feb. 17th at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala.
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